


Institutional Memory

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Episode: s07e21 Institutional Memory, F/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-23
Updated: 2012-05-23
Packaged: 2019-05-30 10:20:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15094703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: My continuation of what could have happend after Danny asked CJ that heartbreaking question during their heated discussion in the street."You don't even see me in the picture, do you?"Angst/Hurt/Comfort/Friendship/Drama/Romance





	Institutional Memory

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

  
Author's notes: This story is basically all that the summary says, a continuation of Institutional Memory. I wanted to sort of experiment with what it would be like if CJ were to suddenly get amnesia and the reaction of her peers. It mainly is CJ/Danny, but I also wanted to mention some Josh/Donna, Leo/Margaret, Jed/Abby, ya know, the usual. So, I hope you enjoy it, critisism, suggestions...basically any feedback is appreciated.  
  
Enjoy.  


* * *

"The chemicals react…"  
-Ally & AJ Chemicals React

"You don't even see me in the picture do you?" The expression on her face told Danny everything. She didn't see him sharing a life with her. That's what hurt him most.

She stood there with the same look plaguing her pretty features, as though she never once gave into thought about them together. The small, velvet crimson box in his coat pocket was forgotten when CJ still said nothing to him.

'And just like that…watch the chemicals react.'

"I didn't think so. Get back to work Claudia-Jean." He said this flatly, his voice void of any emotion. Danny told himself he would never stop loving this woman, and he wouldn't, but he didn't know how long he could wait for her. He'd been waiting for nearly six years. He didn't know how much longer he could.  
Danny stepped forward, placing his hands on her shoulders, and reaching up to gently kiss her forehead. Her facial expression still hadn't changed, but there were tears swimming in her emerald orbs. Heavyhearted, Danny backed up, turned, and walked away.

'You make me feel, out of my element, like I'm drifting out to the sea. Like the tides pulling me in deeper. Making it harder to….breathe…'

'We cannot deny how we feel inside. We cannot deny…' The lyrics to the Ally and AJ song kept swirling around in his head. Danny had heard it multiple times on the radio in his beat up Chevy pick-up. He never knew a song could convey his feelings so well.

Maybe he shouldn't have left CJ on her own on the curb of a busy street, what with her being blind by tears, but she made herself clear that she didn't need him. He shook his head, and angrily shoved his hands into his pockets, instantly coming into contact with the ring box.

He was going to propose to her. Of course he knew that now she couldn't wear it, but he'd put a chain in the bottom of the box for her to wear around her neck. It was simple yet elegant. Like CJ in a way he guessed. Most of the time anyway. The ring was silver, since she didn't strike him as a gold person, set with emerald and two small diamonds on either side. He'd also inscribed it. To seven years of hide-and-seek. ~Danny. That was basically how they'd had to play their relationship, like a game. A game of hide-and-seek. Toby, Leo, and the President were the seekers, and Danny and CJ were the only ones hiding in the game.

He stopped as suddenly there was a loud screeching noise, that of rubber straining against asphalt, and then a boom and a shattering of glass. His mind instantly flew to CJ.

Danny bolted back down the sidewalk, instantly he noticed the cars backed up for nearly a mile. His heart raced as he neared the car, billowing with smoke that nearly a dozen people surrounded. He pushed past the murmuring bystanders, falling to his knees when he saw the familiar tan, Egyptian cotton Gucci coat covered in the wine colored liquid.

Gently he rolled her over, seeing the blood matted in her hair and covering the open cuts on her forehead. He held back a wave of nausea the sight of his best friend. He sat beside her cradling her form as best he could without moving her. Frantically he looked up at the people around them.

"Someone call an ambulance!" He shrieked. He couldn't fathom why they wouldn't have already. It was making him angry that they just stood and starred, waiting for someone else to do the obvious. "Oh, CJ, it's going to be okay. Hold on, just hold on…"

"I'm alive…"  
-Flyleaf   
She could feel it all around her, thickening the air she breathed.

Everything around her was an unidentifiable blur. Each time she opened her eyes it was like being on a Tilt-a-Whirl. She can't remember what happened, were she was, or who she was for that matter.

Wherever she was it felt warm, and she was oddly comfortable. But everything ached and she could taste what smelled like blood. It was loud, each cacophonic sound worsening her headache.

She could hear voice, very faint, but they were there. One in particular seemed close. It was a man. It sounded like he was crying, and repeating the name CJ over and over again. She assumed that CJ was her.  
Every one of her limbs was too heavy to lift. She tried to open her eyes again but her head screamed in belated protest. So, her lids slipped closed, and she succumbed to the darkness that pulled at her consciousness…

-The West Wing-

She was warm again where she was now, and it seemed her pain had ebbed.

Somewhere there was an incessant beeping, and if her head wasn't so clouded, she thought that maybe, she could decipher where she was now. All she knew was she needed to open her eyes.

It was bright, the room bathed in the piercing light. Blinking a few times she looked to her right to see a redheaded man in blue hospital scrubs. He was looking out of the window beside her bed.

"Doctor?" Her own voice didn't sound familiar to her.

Quickly the man turned to her and broke into a grin. He took two giant strides over to her bed and reached to grasp her hand. She speedily retracted it, eliciting a confused and somewhat hurt expression from him. His blue eyes softened.

"CJ, it's me Danny? You're in the hospital. It's alright." He reached for her hand again but she pulled it away. "CJ…don't ya know me?"

The man looked at her as if she were supposed to recognize him. She looked hard at him. Something about him seemed familiar, but she couldn't place him. Everything was blank when she looked at him. Nothing rang a bell.

"I'm sorry….do I know you?"

He blinked and then scrunched his eyes at her. CJ couldn't read him, not that she really could before, but he was definitely upset.

"Doctor!" Her ran to the door, looking both ways before disappearing into the hallway. A few minutes later, he came back with what she assumed was an actual doctor.

"How're you feeling ?" She was a blond older woman, nonetheless pretty. Her green eyes sparkled with kindness.

"My head hurts a bit," she answered the woman.

"Okay, I'll get you something for that. We're going to keep you overnight to keep an eye on you, ok?" She caught a glimpse of her nametag, Dr. Helen Gaites. The clipboard she held had a pile of papers clipped on it. "Can I speak to you in the hall, ?"

CJ looked at the distraught man. He looked at her compassionately, and then nodded to the doctor solemnly. "Of course."

He then was led out of the room. She concluded they'd not gone far, she could hear a bit of their conversation.

"….suggested that there was a bit of damage done to the frontal lobe. All the other tests came back normal. She has a bit of swelling in the lobe as well, but the antibiotics we're giving her are going to bring that down."

There was a shuffle, and what she thought was a sniffle.

"Will she…will she remember again?" He paused. "Will her memory come back?"

There was an elongated pause as she heard some papers being scuffled.

"I cannot guarantee she'll get it back, but it's a possibility. These are rare cases , and everyone is different…" 

"Right…" He sighed, and took a deep breath.

"We can only hope for the best…"

"Hope..excuse me…I've gotta make a phone call…"

CJ heard two sets of footsteps and assumed the doctor had left. Danny had appeared in the doorway, his cell to his ear.

"Hey Toby, its Danny…"


End file.
